|
1) Bad Week in Court for Labor Unions.
I hate
writing about court decisions because unless they reach the U.S. Supreme
Court, you can't be sure if they are the final word. Still, it was an
unusual week in that four separate rulings went against labor unions.
* A U.S. district court judge ruled in favor of the
U.S. Department of Labor that its interpretation of the Labor-Management
Reporting and Disclosure Act is valid and that all NEA and AFT state
affiliates are subject to its requirements. Most affiliates have previously
avoided these disclosures because they represent only public sector
employees.
Under the new interpretation, all state affiliates are
subject to the same detailed financial reporting requirements as their
national parent organizations. Should the ruling stand, state affiliates
will have to file an LM-2, leading to
disclosures similar to these.
I have posted the district court decision as an Adobe
Acrobat file at
http://www.eiaonline.com/AlabamaEAvChao.pdf.
* A U.S. district court judge ordered the California
State Employees Association to return to non-members the "Emergency
Temporary Assessment to Build a Political Fight-Back Fund" it created
during the 2005 elections.
* The U.S. Supreme Court will review a case concerning
Idaho's payroll protection law, which was struck down by the U.S. Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals.
* A superior court judge ruled against the New Jersey
Education Association's claim for the state to make up a
$2.6 billion shortfall in the teacher pension system.
2) Why They Leave 2.0.
The latest issue of
NEA Today features an article on teacher retention, headlined "Why
They Leave." Last week's newspaper headlines offer quite a few different
answers from the ones provided by NEA:
"Schools
enrollment drops by more than 5,500 kids" – April 3
D.C. Examiner
"State
to lay off at least 1,000 teachers" – April 3
Grand Forks Herald
"School
budget politics: Teachers' jobs aren't sacred" – April 4
Manchester
Union Leader
"Demand
for teachers in Florida is waning" – April 7
South Florida
Sun-Sentinel
"Will
layoff notices spook potential teachers?" – April 7
San Diego
Union-Tribune
The latter story warns us that massive layoffs may lead
to a teacher shortage – in the next decade.
Well, that's possible. It's also possible that alarmist
cries of teacher shortages led to overhiring amid enrollment declines which
led to the current layoffs.
3) NEA State Affiliates Plan Significant Dues
Increases. Spring is the season for most of the representative
assemblies for NEA state affiliates, and so news begins to filter in about
the proposed dues levels for the 2008-09 school year.
NEA national dues will be set at $158 (see
Item #5 here), a $5 increase, but many state affiliates plan to exceed
that hike. The smallest increases EIA is aware of belong to Kansas (up $7 to
$344) and North Dakota (up $8 to $287). The largest belongs to Wyoming (up
$29 to $492). Here are some others:
Texas – up $12 to $270
South Dakota – up $12 to $315
New Mexico - up $12 to $324
Iowa – up $12 to $422
Nebraska – up $14 to $342
Arizona – up $17 to $298
Under current bylaws, both Missouri and Ohio will see
their dues levels decrease (Missouri by $2 and Ohio by $3). Some NEA
affiliates tie their dues levels to the average teacher salary. When veteran
teachers retire and are replaced by new ones, the average salary decreases.
Expect similar occurrences elsewhere as the years progress.
4) NEA Provides Stipend to Political Party
Delegates. NEA wants to encourage its members to become delegates to
both the Democratic and Republican national conventions, so it is offering a
stipend to those who are elected.
Those who attend the Democratic National Convention in
Denver will receive $460, and those who attend the Republican National
Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul will receive $450.
I'm not sure why Democratic delegates get $10 more, but
maybe it's to
chip in for bowling lessons.
5) Digital-Era Sweatshop?!? In an already
much-ridiculed article, New York Times reporter Matt Richtel refers
to blogging as "the
digital-era sweatshop." The story is so overwrought it would be
dismissed as an April Fool's joke if it hadn't run on April 6.
For the record and from personal experience, in terms
of stress levels I'd much rather be blogging than
flying in Papa 518. ("Jack Rabbit, Jack Rabbit, Jack Rabbit.")
6) Misinformation or Disinformation? In the
past couple of weeks, EIA has run two confirmed and accurate stories about
the dismissal of NEA regional director
Michael Butera and the pending dismissal of Florida Education
Association executive director
Aaron Wallace.
Over the weekend I received an
anonymous tip that another NEA state affiliate executive director had been
fired. I checked with the affiliate and they plainly and utterly deny it. I
don't know if my unknown informant was mistaken or deliberately trying to
plant a false story.
EIA policy has been plain from the
beginning. I keep sources anonymous, but they can't be anonymous from me.
I won't run anything that isn't backed by verifiable documentary evidence
and/or knowledgeable and identifiable sources.
I can still get things wrong, but it
won't be because a story was "too good to check."
7) Last Week's Intercepts. EIA's blog,
Intercepts, covered these topics from March 31-April 7:
*
Rod Paige to Run for NEA President. My first April Fool's Day joke ever
catches a few with their pants down.
*
Back to the Statistical Salt Mines. A lot of tables to update.
*
Uncle Jay's Favorite Blogs – 2008 Version. Fame is so fleeting.
8)
Quote of the Week.
"Underneath NCLB's unfunded mandates and one-size-fits-all testing lies a
fundamental principle: to educate every child equally, without
discrimination. Opting out of NCLB promotes a false hope for those who work
and learn in public schools. While NCLB has damaged education, the
legislation authorizes more than $600 million to Arizona's classrooms." –
Arizona Education Association Vice President Andrew Morrill. (April 2
Arizona Republic) |
